


this is the road to ruin

by watercolorwoods



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Explosions, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, but he doesn't die dw, respawning is a thing, techno gets very injured, wil blows up manberg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watercolorwoods/pseuds/watercolorwoods
Summary: His head is racing, full of thoughts, so hateful and so afraid that he's not even sure he recognizes himself anymore. But Wilbur doesn't matter right now, Techno does. His brother.-Wilbur blows up Manberg on the day of the war, and nearly kills Techno in the process.
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, No Romantic Relationship(s), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 38
Kudos: 632





	this is the road to ruin

**Author's Note:**

> AHHHHH gotta do the next chapter still but here's a quick thing!!

"Wilbur, don't!" Tommy hears Techno scream into his communicator, more panicked than he's ever heard the man.

At the same exact time, Dream practically sings, a smile on his face, "Do it, Wilbur!"

A pause. Tommy's heart drops when he sees Techno lunge in front of him and Tubbo, and wrap his arms around the two of them.

And everything explodes with white. The ground is ripped out from underneath him. His body is blown back, and his side groaning with pain from where he's landed on it. But he doesn't care, it doesn't matter right now. His head is racing, full of thoughts, so hateful and so afraid that he's not even sure he recognizes himself anymore. But Wilbur doesn't matter right now, _Techno_ does. _His brother._

"Techno!" Tommy screams at the top of his lungs, the fear that plagued his limbs quickly succumbing to panic. His ears ring with the explosion, and when he looks down, his skin is covered in soot and dirt. Pieces of rubble have cut into his arms, legs, and face, but he can walk. He's _alive_. Techno, his brother. _Techno saved him_.

Is Tubbo alive? He looks around frantically, but the dust is too thick, and the ringing is too loud. He can't hear a thing, and Tubbo probably can't either.

The smoke clears as he drops to his knees, head firmly in his hands. He needs the ringing to stop, he can't focus, he can't do _anything_. His entire body is stingy and hot, and he feels like he's suffocating.

Still, slowly but surely, the world comes alive. The dust has fully faded, and sounds start coming back to him.

"-mmy! Tommy!" He hears Tubbo's broken cries as the ringing fades into a small noise in the back of his head. Someone is groaning, but he can't tell who. He sees Bad and Sam, both trapped under rubble not far from him. His head whips around desperately.

"Tubbo!" He calls, his voice breaking as he coughs up dust. He squeezes his eyes shut, and puts a hand on his head again. His knees ache from the way he sits on them, and he feels the heavy bruise forming on his side. It hurts so _much_. 

Someone touches his arm, and he jolts, eyes snapping open. He's greeted with Tubbo, and immediately he softens, eyes wide. "Tubbo," he rejoices, wrapping his arms around the boy as tight as he can, pulling him in close.

"It's okay, Tommy," Tubbo tells him, sniffling and crying. 

"Where's Techno?" He asks as he pulls away and heaves himself to his feet with more difficulty than he'd like to admit. He reaches a hand down to Tubbo, who uses his left; his right is held close to his body protectively. Tommy figures he's injured it.

"I think I saw his hair," Tubbo whispers, brows furrowed and lips trembling. "Over here." He twists them around, and starts to walk further back. 

They find Techno on his back, one of his arms on the ground above his head and the other by his side. His eyes are half-lidded, chest rising and falling slowly, rhythmless. The netherite armor he adorns is no longer shiny, dented and sliced by fragments of building and the earth, covered in dirt and soot. 

" _Fuck_ , Techno," Tommy cries, and he and Tubbo immediately kneel to his side.

Slowly, Techno's head lolls in their direction, his eyes glazed and unfocused. "Tommy. Tubbo," he mumbles, words slurred as he speaks. "Are… you okay?"

Tears well in Tommy's eyes, and he wills himself to stay whole. So badly he wants to fall apart, crumble and break right here at his brother's side. But he can't mourn, not when Techno is alive. He narrows his eyes and bites his lip. He doesn't know what to say.

"We're okay," Tubbo answers for him, hand on Techno's stomach, resting next to a deep cut.

The corners of Techno's lips tilt upward ever so slightly, and he closes his eyes. "Good."

"You're gonna be fine," Tommy announces defiantly, shaking Techno gently to get him to stay awake. Slowly, Techno's eyes open slightly. 

"Tommy," he breathes, and groans a little, hand moving to his forehead. "I'll respawn."

"No!" Tommy declares, and starts frantically searching for the bag Techno always carries. He's sure to have potions in there. Techno _never_ goes anywhere without being prepared for a battle. He's a paranoid idiot.

Tommy _used_ to think that. Maybe Technoblade has always had the right idea.

"I won't let you die," he says with a shudder. "You know how horrible it is, Techno, come on, stop it! Snap out of it, would you?!"

Breathily, Techno laughs, something sad and far away. His voice is feeble as he speaks. "Tommy, I've died plenty. I'll be fine. Just let me go."

Something ugly rears its head deep within him, and he curls his lip, clenching his fists. "It doesn't matter!" He yells indignantly, and shakes his head violently to bring himself back to reality and clear the tears from his eyes. Finally, he finds the bag, and yanks it out from under Techno.

"It doesn't matter, those times before," he bites out, throwing the bag open and digging around until he touches a small glass bottle. He pulls it out, and squints. It's a bit hard to tell in the sunlight if it's a healing or strength potion, so he keeps digging to find one to compare.

"Tommy, that one was a regen," Tubbo tells him quietly, jostling him a bit. "That should be good," he says, and takes the bag from Tommy. "I'll keep looking for another, okay?"

Bitterly, Tommy nods. His eyes are stinging from the particles of dust that still linger in the air. He blames his watery eyes on that, and nothing else.

A hand wraps around his arm before he can uncap the bottle, and he follows it to Techno's face. He presses his brows close together, nose scrunched as he tries half-heartedly to escape. "Let me go, you dickhead," he growls. "I'm trying to save your life!"

"It's not worth it, Tommy," Techno tells him, his voice cracking halfway through. His throat bobs as he swallows thickly, a tear dragging its way down the side of his nose.

_I'm not worth it._

That's all Tommy can hear. It's as clear as day, what Techno really means when he says that. _I'm not worth it, my ass,_ Tommy thinks, and scowls, yanking his arm away. He drops the potion. He can hear bottles, clinking in the bag as Tubbo madly searches. Every muscle in his body is taut and defensive; he's practically bristling at this point.

"You moron!" Tommy yells, and grabs Techno's face. The look of shock that crosses Techno is satisfying to see. "It doesn't matter how many times you've died! None of those were my fault!" 

The dam inside him breaks, and a sob falls past his lips before he can even try to stop it. He slaps a hand to his mouth, as if to pick it up and shove it back in. But more just keep coming, and the tears blur his vision until Techno is just a blob in front of him. He blinks hard, clearing the fresh tears from his eyes and scrubbing at them with his sleeves. Snot drips from his nose, and he tastes the salt on his chapped lips. He's a _mess_ , and he's not even the one dying.

In fact, Techno is smiling, even as the tears keep rolling down his face. "I won't be gone forever," he croaks weakly. "It'll be okay."

"You can't just say that!" Tommy cries. "Not when you have to go through that! Not when you'll come back with even more scars than before!"

He thinks back to his duel with Dream, and sobs again. God, respawning hurts so badly. He's still got trauma from it. Sometimes, he wakes up from nightmares, hot and sweaty but cold all at the same time. He dreams of the pain, and the aching, and the loneliness. 

He doesn't want Techno to go through that any more than he has to. 

With newfound resolve, he takes a steadying breath. Shakily, he picks up the bottle, and sways to sit on his knees. He holds it tightly, and locks eyes with Techno. 

"Pointless," Techno comments slowly, and closes his eyes. 

Tommy turns the potion upside down, and tries his best to saturate the worst of Techno's injuries. A nasty gash on his side, another across his chest, another along his thigh. They'll all scar, whether Techno lives or not.

But without a doubt the worst scars come from the respawning process. Every injury sustained is multiplied tenfold, and the scars reflect as much. It's the price of respawning, the outcome of a fleeting death. Mortals were _meant_ to fear death, after all.

The problem with Techno, Tommy knows, is that he _doesn't_. The excruciating pain of respawning doesn't deter Technoblade. It's always been the biggest source of concern among Tommy, Wilbur, and Phil. Because fearing death is normal, and it's _good_. Tommy fears nothing, but he'll be the first to admit he's afraid of dying. Not for the first time, Tommy wonders what's happened in Techno's life to make him so unafraid to die.

All he can do is hope that the regen potion is enough. He vaguely recognizes Tubbo drawing out another, and using that one too, and _surely_ that's enough. Techno is amazing at brewing, and the potions seemed potent enough, especially considering they're his war potions. He kneels down again, holding Techno's hand tightly.

Around them, the others are picking themselves up, consoling in one another. Tommy's sure they're vaguely aware of the situation, because they seem to be unconsciously drawing nearer as they hold each other.

"Tommy," Tubbo murmurs and rests his hand on Tommy's shoulder gently. He stirs ever so slightly in response. "Tommy, look over the hill."

His shoulders tense. He already knows what he'll find when he turns around, or rather, _who_. The thought makes him physically ill, and he tightens his grip on Techno's hand.

The boy grunts, and wrings his hand to loosen Tommy's hold. "Talk to him, Tommy," he murmurs, and coughs violently for a few long moments. "Don't… don't abandon him."

"How unlike you, Technoblade," Tommy sneers, and rolls his eyes sourly.

But Tommy thinks of all the times Techno's been betrayed in his life. Slowly, Techno has told them over time, all the times he's been wronged and all the horrible things he's done. Some of the things, they didn't even have to be told; some of the things, they were present for.

He thinks then of the Manberg festival, when Techno had gone mad with the bloodlust and pressure, and killed half the server. When he'd killed _Tubbo_. Tommy will never, ever forget that. He still thinks of it sometimes when they're eating breakfast together, or video calling Phil. The memories crop up briefly, when they're doing the most random things together.

He hasn't entirely forgiven Techno, and he isn't sure he ever will. 

But ever since Phil brought Tommy into their makeshift family, Techno has _never_ done a thing to hurt him. Never Tommy, or Wilbur, or Phil. _Never his family._

Wil did just that, and Techno might not make it out of this alive. Wilbur tried to kill _both_ of his brothers.

"Tommy," Techno says, and his smile is sad and shaky. He's still too weak to move his head, so he stays with his cheek pressed to the ground, eyes on Tommy. "Don't turn your back on him."

"He turned his back on _us_!" Tommy bites out angrily, and clenches his fist, teeth bared. "He's almost killed you, idiot! It could've been me and Tubbo, if it weren't for you!"

"Hey…" Tubbo starts, and taps his arm.

He doesn't even process Tubbo's voice, fire coursing through his veins, white-hot. "He doesn't love us, Techno! Not anymore! He's lost it! This isn't the Wil we know and love!"

Techno's smile drops, and his eyes move to the side, looking over Tommy's shoulder. Tommy notices he's barely able to keep them open. Nonetheless, he halts, and his entire body feels cold. Silence befalls all of them, not a single thing even daring to stir. And behind him, one boy's voice rings out, hesitant as it quivers.

"Tommy?"

**Author's Note:**

> comments & kudos r so PogChamp. maybe check out my other works? :D
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/TECHN0PIG)


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